John 7:29
in John 7but I know Him, because I am from Him and He sent Me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I know him; because I am from him, and he sent me.
KJV
But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.
⋯
This verse in John 7
Commentary
16 notes on this verseYe have just said (He saith) When Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence He is. But since ye insist that ye hold this your opinion rightly, as being the truth, I agree to your words herein. For True is He of Whom I am, the Father, but He is not known of you.
This site's exposition
still teaching in the temple courts
on John 7:28-29
Jesus grants they know Him and where He is from, and His origin runs past that to the One who sent Him, who is true. Their claim to know God breaks on their failure to know the One He sent, and His answer ends on I know Him.
This site's exposition
I am from Him
Cyril of Alexandria has Jesus agree with their saying of verse 27 in a sense they missed. He knows the One who sent Him and is from Him, and they do not know Him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Lastly, when He had said, "But He that sent me is true, whom ye know not," in order to show them whence they might know that which they did not know, He subjoined, "I know Him." Therefore seek from me to know Him. But why is it that I know Him? "Because I am from Him, and He sent me." Gloriously has He shown both. "I am from Him," said He; because the Son is from the Father, and whatever the Son is, He is of Him whose Son He is. Hence we say that the Lord Jesus is God of God: we do not say that the Father is God of God, but simply God: and we say that the Lord Jesus is Light of Light; we do not say that the Father is Light of Light, but simply Light. Accordingly, to this belongs that which He said "I am from Him." But as to my being seen of you in the flesh, "He sent me." When thou hearest "He sent me," do not understand a difference of nature to be meant, but the authority of Him that begets.
(Tr. xxxi. 4) Lastly, to show whence they could get to know Him (who had sent Him), He adds, I know Him: so if you would know Him, enquire of Me. No one knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him. And if I should say, I know Him not, I should be a liar like unto you. (c. 8:55) (Tr. xxxi. 4) I am from Him, He says, i. e. as the Son from the Father: but that you see Me in the flesh is because He hath sent Me. Wherein understand not a difference of nature, but the authority of a father.
Every man is born in the flesh; yet does not universal consciousness make every man spring from God? How then can Christ assert that either He, or the source of His being, is unknown? He can only do so by assigning His immediate parentage to the ultimate Author of existence; and, when He has done this, He can demonstrate their ignorance of God by their ignorance of the fact that He is the Son of God. Let the victims of this wretched delusion reflect upon the words, Ye neither know Me, nor know ye whence I am. All things, they argue, are from nothing; they allow of no exception. They even dare to misrepresent God the Only-begotten as sprung from nothing. How can we explain this ignorance of Christ, and of the origin of Christ, on the part of the blasphemers? The very fact that, as the Scripture says, they know not whence He is, is an indication of that unknowable origin from which He springs. If we can say of a thing that it came into existence out of nothing, then we are not ignorant of its origin; we know that it was made out of nothing, and this is a piece of definite knowledge. Now He Who came is not the Author of His own being; but He Who sent Him is true, Whom the blasphemers know not. He it was Who sent Him; and they know not that He was the Sender. Thus the Sent is from the Sender; from Him Whom they know not as His Author. The reason why they know not Who Christ is, is that they know not from Whom He is. None can confess the Son who denies that He was born; none can understand that He was born who has formed the opinion that He is from nothing. And indeed He is so far from being made out of nothing, that the heretics cannot tell whence He is.
But He immediately adds, For I am from Him, and He hath sent Me, to debar heresy from the violent assumption that His being from God dates from the time of His Advent. The Gospel revelation of the mystery proceeds in a logical sequence; first He is born, then He is sent. Similarly, in the previous declaration, we were told of ignorance, first as to Who He is, and then as to whence He is. For the words, I am from Him, and He hath sent Me, contain two separate statements, as also do the words, Ye neither know Me, nor know ye whence I am.
"I know Him," He saith, "for I am from Him, and He hath sent Me." Seest thou how He continually seeketh to prove the, "I am not come of Myself," and, "He that sent Me is true," striving not to be thought an enemy of God? And observe how great is the profit of the humility of His words.
8 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
(vi. de Trin. ultra med.) I ask however, does the being from Him express a work of creation, or a birth by generation? If a work of creation, then every thing which is created is from Him. And how then does not all creation know the Father, if the Son knows Him, because He is from Him? But if the knowledge of the Father is peculiar to Him, as being from Him, then the being from Him is peculiar to Him also; i. e. the being the true Son of God by nature. So you have then a peculiar knowledge springing from a peculiar generation. To prevent however any heresy applying the being from Him, to the time of His advent, He adds, And He hath sent Me: thus preserving the order of the Gospel sacrament; first announcing Himself born, and then sent.
The Medieval Church3 voices
"But I know him, and if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you, a liar;" you who lie saying that you are ignorant of his temporal birth; but I do not lie so as to say that I …
Then when he says, I know him, he teaches us how to know him from whom he is. For if a thing is to be learned, it must be learned from one who knows it. But only the Son knows the Father. And so he …
"I know Him," for knowing Him, neither evil intention nor deeds contrary to Him hinder Me. "Because I am from Him," that is, from Him, not from another essence, not foreign to Him. "And He sent Me." Here two natures in Christ are clearly indicated: …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But I know him,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
But I know him: for I am from him - Instead of εἰμὶ, I am, some editions, the Syriac Hieros. read εἷμι, I came, according to the Attics. Nonnus confirms this reading by paraphrasing the word by εληλυθα, I came. As the difference between the two words lies only in the accents, and as these are not found in ancient MSS., it is uncertain which way the word was understood by them: nor is the matter of much moment; both words amount nearly to the same meaning and εἷμι, I came, seems too refined.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
We see in these verses, the obstinate blindness of the unbelieving Jews. We find them defending their denial of our Lord's Messiahship, by saying, "But we know where this man comes from. Whenever the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from." And yet in both these assertions they were wrong! They were wrong in saying that they "knew where our Lord came from." They meant no doubt to say that He was born at Nazareth, and belonged to Nazareth, and was therefore a Galilean.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
We see in these verses, the obstinate blindness of the unbelieving Jews. We find them defending their denial of our Lord's Messiahship, by saying, "But we know where this man comes from. Whenever the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from." And yet in both these assertions they were wrong! They were wrong in saying that they "knew where our Lord came from." They meant no doubt to say that He was born at Nazareth, and belonged to Nazareth, and was therefore a Galilean. Yet the fact was, that our Lord was born at Bethlehem, that He belonged legally to the tribe of Judah, and that His mother and Joseph were of the house and lineage of David. It is incredible to suppose that the Jews could not have found this out, if they had honestly searched and inquired. It is notorious that pedigrees, genealogies, and family histories were most carefully kept by the Jewish nation. Their ignorance was without excuse. They were wrong again in saying, "Whenever the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from." There was a well-known prophecy, with which their whole nation was familiar, that Christ was to come out of the town of Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:5; John 7:42.) It is absurd to suppose that they had forgotten this prophecy. But apparently they found it inconvenient to remember it on this occasion. Men's memories are often sadly dependent on their wills. The Apostle Peter, in a certain place, speaks of some as "willingly ignorant." (2 Pet. 3:5.) He had good reason to use the expression. It is a sore spiritual disease, and one most painfully common among men. There are thousands in the present day just as blind in their way as the Jews. They shut their eyes against the plainest facts and doctrines of Christianity. They pretend to say that they do not understand, and cannot therefore believe the things that we press on their attention, as needful to salvation.
How the passage was read
On John 7:1-53On John 7:1-53
The water ceremony He interrupted
“The Feast of Booths” is Tabernacles, in Hebrew Sukkot: the autumn week when Israel lived (and Jewish families still eat) in leafy shelters remembering the wilderness. In Temple times each morning of the feast a priest carried water in gold from the pool of Siloam up to the altar and poured it out, praying for the year's rain, while the crowds sang: the Mishnah calls it the Rejoicing at the Place of the Water-Drawing, and the Talmud says whoever never saw it “has never seen rejoicing in his life” (Sukkah 51a).
That is the scene on “the last day of the feast, the great day,” when Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink”: a claim staged inside the feast's own ceremony, at the moment all Jerusalem was thinking about water from God.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Sukkah 4:9 (the water-drawing rite) · Sukkah 51a (“has never seen rejoicing”)
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐγὼ | ego | I myself | G1473 → | 839 times |
| οἶδα | oida | know | ||
| αὐτόν, | auton | Him, | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | because | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| παρ᾽ | par᾽ | from | G3844 → | 192 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| εἰμι, | eimi | I am, | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| κἀκεῖνός | kakeinos | and He | G2532 →G1565 → | 260 times |
| με | me | Me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ἀπέστειλεν. | apesteilen | sent. | G649 → | 132 times |
ἐγὼI myself
egoG1473 →839 times
οἶδαknow
oida
αὐτόν,Him,
autonG846 →5565 times
ὅτιbecause
hotiG3754 →1292 times
παρ᾽from
par᾽G3844 →192 times
αὐτοῦHim
autouG846 →5565 times
εἰμι,I am,
eimiG1510 →2333 times
κἀκεῖνόςand He
μεMe
meG3165 →1936 times
ἀπέστειλεν.sent.
apesteilenG649 →132 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 11:27All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses…
it leads to
- John 14:6–9
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Matthew 28:18
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
- Luke 10:22
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to…
- 2 John 1:9
Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.
- John 17:25–26
Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.
- John 14:6–9
Through
1 John 4:9This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
it leads to
- John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- 1 John 5:11
And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
- John 3:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About John
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 31; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 7; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 5; Hilary of Poitiers, ON THE TRINITY 6.29; Hilary of Poitiers, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, John; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 50; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.